& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

'We must change our feudal mindset'

Mujibul Haque says on ending child domestic labour

Staff Correspondent
The practice of employing children as domestic workers will never stop in Bangladesh if people do not change their mindset, speakers said at a discussion yesterday.
The mindset of keeping a child, particularly female, to do household work will not change easily if there are no strict rules and regulations, so the government should formulate a separate act regarding this issue, they added.
Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum (BSAF), a coalition of 269 non-government organisations, in association with Terre des Hommes Netherlands and Global March Against Child Labour, organised the discussion on rights of child domestic workers at The Daily Star Centre in the capital.
"Child domestic workers become victims of physical, mental and sexual abuse almost every day," said Abdullah Al Mamun, a director of Save the Children.
They are also exploited by their employers, not even given sufficient breaks, and most often don't have access to education, medical treatment and entertainment, he said in a keynote presentation.
"We have to change this mindset of employing children for domestic work... do not we feel any shame making children do our work?" asked Mamun.
In 2015, the government approved a policy for protection of domestic workers, setting 12 years as the minimum age for the work. But it eventually failed to protect them, he said. The child rights specialist suggested changing the minimum age to 14.
"Almost none follows the policy as it is not mandatory. We need an act to prevent children from getting involved in domestic labour," Mamun said.
Mahmudul Kabir, country director of
Terre des Hommes in Bangladesh, said destitute parents used to send their children for domestic work previously, but the situation has changed.
As the financial status of Bangladesh has improved significantly in the recent years, employers now search for domestic help through brokers, he added.
"We don't want to see any child as domestic worker. This practice needs to
stop," said Mahmudul.
Speaking as the chief guest, Mujibul Haque, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of labour and employment, said the number of child domestic workers is going down gradually as people's financial condition is improving.
"However, our feudal mentality is yet to change. The more seemingly civilised and educated we are, the more self-centred we are becoming,” he said. "We work about eight hours per day and enjoy one-two days off every week. Do we feel the same about the person who works at our home?" asked Mujibul, also former state minister for labour and employment.
"Employing children as domestic workers will not stop if we don't become aware," he added. He also assured to work on formulation of a separate act for domestic workers.
BSAF Chairperson In-Charge Mahbubul Haque, Director Abdus Shahid Mahmood, and the labour ministry's additional secretary Rezaul Haque also spoke at the programme, among others.